Overlord Premise Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! The escort quest continues to move along. What will the group discover at Carne Village? Momonga is interested in this ‘Wise King of the Forest’ and any benefit that it could offer to Nazarick. But upon the group’s return to E-Rantel, things will spiral into an incident that they never saw coming.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 6 – Wise King of the Forest, Zurrernorn Incident

The Swords of Darkness, along with Momon and Nabe, continued to walk along with the one-horse wagon that Nfirea was driving. It had been a quiet journey since the attack by the Goblins and Ogres the previous day, and the peace seemed like it would hold out until they arrived.

“Carne is just over this next hill.” Nfirea informed his escorts with a smile. “Huh?” He blinked in confusion and surprise as they crested the hill and could see Carne Village.

“Something wrong?” Peter asked Nfirea, not having been to the village before.

Nfirea wasn’t sure if something was wrong as he replied. “That sturdy-looking fence wasn’t there the last time I visited Carne.”

Surrounding the small village was indeed a sturdy wooden fence. It was at least four meters tall, and seemed to have been made of thick logs and planks hewn from the trees of the forest surrounding Carne. It would prevent most of the common Monsters in this area from just wandering into the village, and could easily keep out an attacking force of people as well, provided they didn’t have a powerful Magic user.

‘This must be because they were attacked by the Sunlight Scripture.’ Momonga thought to himself as the group drew closer to the village, passing by several of the farming fields outside of the newly fortified village.

“You think something happened?” Ninya questioned the appearance of the fence.

“I hope not…” Nfirea looked concerned. “My friend lives here.”

A slight movement in the field next to the road they were on caught Lukrut’s attention. “Goblin!” The Ranger had his shortsword drawn in an instant. The rest of the Swords of Darkness followed suit.

Momonga’s eyes widened a little as he took in the group of Goblins that stood up from their hiding spots in the field. All of them were armed, and they wore simple armor as well. But it was their familiar looks that made him speak up. “Hold it.”

Nabe kept her hand on her sword but didn’t draw it.

All of the Swords of Darkness, along with Nfirea, stopped moving, but didn’t take their eyes off the Goblins.

‘No doubt about it. These are Goblins summoned by a Horn of the Goblin General.’ Momonga could tell. ‘Which means the one that summoned them must be…’

“Enri!” Nfirea called out as the gate to the fence was opened and a blonde teen stepped out with a Goblin on either side of her. The Goblin on the right was a female with a staff topped with a bird skull, clearly a Magic user of some type. The Goblin on Enri’s left was a male holding a mace and wearing a skull of some kind of beast on top of his head.

“Nfirea!” Enri waved to him with a smile, happy to see her friend again.

‘So that’s who he knows in Carne Village.’ Momonga watched on as Enri welcomed the group and the Goblins moved aside to let Nfirea’s wagon into the village.

A short time later and the Swords of Darkness were resting in the shade of a tree while Nfirea and Enri talked in the girl’s home. All four Adventurers were watching the Goblins doing daily labors and even farming with some surprise. Goblins weren’t known for farming at all, and to see humans and Goblins coexisting like this was unheard of.

Off to the side, Momon and Nabe stood in the shade of a different tree. Momon was taking in the changes he noticed since the last time he’d been in the small village. It was small, aside from the large fence, but the Goblins that Enri had summoned had certainly bolstered the village’s work force with their strength and numbers.

-Enri’s Home-

“I’m so sorry, Enri…I don’t know what to say.” Nfirea worked up the courage to gently place his hand on her shoulder to offer her support. ‘Losing both of her parents like that… The world can be such a cruel place.’

Enri gave him a small smile of thanks. “It’s alright… I still have my little sister. Taking care of her is the most important thing. I can’t stay sad forever.”

‘She’s so strong… And cute.’ Nfirea felt his face starting to heat up. “S-So, what’s the story with these Goblins?”

“The appeared after I used the Magic items that our savior Lord Ainz Ooal Gown gave to me!” Enri perked up with some excitement. “They call me ‘Boss’ and help out around the village when I ask them to.”

“Is this Ainz Ooal Gown some nobleman?” Nfirea asked curiously, internally worried that Enri might be smitten with such a man. ‘If he was able to fight off fully armed knights and gave Enri such a powerful Magic item… I don’t stand a chance against such a man!’ The Pharmacist worried that his chance with the girl he liked would disappear before he’d even worked up the nerve to tell Enri that he liked her.

“He claimed that he wasn’t, but he wore an immaculate feather robe and was quite handsome.” Enri giggled slightly at remembering their savior’s looks. “Oh, get this, he even used a spell to heal me and Nemu when we were injured!”

“Healing Magic, huh?” Nfirea barely suppressed a stutter. “Was he a Priest or Cleric?”

“I…don’t think so…” Enri shook her head, recalling the Death Knight that had been summoned and controlled by Ainz Ooal Gown. The Undead were destroyed by Priests and Clerics, not raised by them…at least as far as she knew.

Nfirea pondered on this strange, powerful man that had saved Carne Village. “I hope that I can meet him one day, to thank him for saving you…and your sister, and everybody!” He stumbled over his words while expressing his relief that Enri was saved.

“Thank you, Nfirea.” Enri smiled at him softly. “You might be able to meet Lord Gown one day though.” Seeing Nfirea perk up, Enri continued. “Lord Gown declared that the village was under his protection; so I’m sure we’ll see him around from time to time.”

“I hope that I’m able to meet him soon then.” Nfirea smiled at Enri and, mustering his worry and fear of losing Enri to Ainz Ooal Gown, he gently took her hand in his as he met her eyes. “Enri, if there’s anything I can do to help, just say it. I’ll do whatever I can to help you. You mean the world to me.”

Enri’s eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly in surprise. “N-Nfie?” She used the nickname that only she was allowed to call him. Her face turned pink and then red.

Nfirea’s face wasn’t any better, having turned a dark red as what he’d said caught up to him.

The two sat there for along moment, just holding hands and looking at each other. Then Enri giggled, squeezing Nfirea’s hand with hers and smiling brightly at him. “I’m glad…Nfie.”

“Enri…” Nfirea smiled at Enri for not rejecting him, the two just taking their time as they came to grips with this new situation.

Enri didn’t know if what she felt for Nfirea was love, or if that was where her heart was headed. But she had always liked Nfirea ever since they were young. His knowledge was impressive and when he’d first shown her Magic, she’d been amazed by what he could do. ‘Maybe that’s how it starts…and we’ve both just been waiting?’ She decided that she’d figure things out in time, Nfirea clearly wasn’t in a rush, so they could take it step by step…together.

Outside, Momon and Nabe watched as the villagers’ practiced archery under the supervision of a few of the Goblins. Arrows were loosed and struck the straw target one after another, none of them falling short or missing the human-shaped target.

“They’re not too bad.” Momon mentioned, seeing young and old alike taking turns with the limited number of bows.

“If you say so, Mr. Momon.” Nabe replied, she clearly didn’t think so, nor was she really interested in what the humans were doing.

Momon sighed a little. “Alright, I wouldn’t call any of them a natural…but think about it. Until ten days ago, none of them had even held a bow before. They’ve been through a lot. They had to watch as their friends and family were murdered. But instead of giving into misery, they’re working hard to make sure that atrocity never happens again. If nothing else, their resolve is inspiring.”

Nabe turned to face Momon and gave him a deferential bow. “I hadn’t thought of that, please, forgive me.” Her stoic expression didn’t change, nor did her tone of voice, but Momon could see in her eyes that she was taking his words to heart.

‘Seimei was correct, the former NPC’s can learn if they’re taught.’ Momonga thought to himself, happy to see even this small change in Narberal. If they could grow and change, it would be an amazing thing to watch as they became more than just the AI Routines they’d been back in YGGDRASIL.

-Forest-

“We’ll enter the forest through here.” Nfirea explained to the group as they stood in front of a semi-worn path that entered the forest. Everyone noticed that the Pharmacist was smiling and seemed to be in a good mood ever since they’d regrouped. That had led to a little playful ribbing among the men, Nfirea’s smile could only mean that things had improved with his crush, Enri. “I’ll be counting on you all in case anything attacks.”

“As long as we have Mr. Momon here, I doubt anything in there would have the guts.” Peter joked as he looked over at the other warrior.

“Oh yeah, one thing.” Nfirea turned to Momon. “If we happen to come across the Wise King of the Forest, I’d prefer you scare it off, instead of killing it.”

“Care to explain?” Momon asked for clarification on Nfirea’s request.

Nfirea looked out into the forest. “This entire area is within the Wise King’s territory. He’s the reason that Monsters rarely ever come near Carne Village. If you kill the Wise King, that could endanger the people here.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s impossible, even for him.” Lukrut looked at Nfirea like he was nuts.

“I’ll certainly try.” Momon accepted the condition.

“Huh?!” The Swords of Darkness all looked over at Momon in shock.

“You do realize that this is a Legendary Creature that we’re talking about, right?” Lukrut restated for Momon, the Ranger shaking his head slightly at the mere idea.

“You must be very confident in your strength to have that attitude, Mr. Momon.” Dyne looked impressed by Momon’s fortitude.

Ninya spoke up, to get the group’s focus back on the reason for going into the forest in the first place. “What herbs are we looking for exactly, Mr. Bareare?”

“Ah, right.” Nfirea reached into his bag and pulled out a green leaf to show the group. “This is the Ngunak Herb that’s used to make potions. Many medicinal herbs can be found in the forest around Carne Village. I need to collect at least this much,” He pointed to the tall basket strapped to his back. “To fulfill the needs of my grandmother’s shop.”

“So, once we find these herbs, it’s mission accomplished, right?” Lukrut put his hands behind his head with a smile. “Then I’ll do a flawless job and impress Miss Nabe.” He shot a smile at the beautiful woman.

Nabe tsked and looked the other way.

Peter chuckled as Lukrut hung his head at the instant rejection.

“I have a suggestion.” Momon looked towards Nfirea. “Nabe can use Magic similar to [Alarm] to alert her of enemies. I’d like the two of us to scout ahead for any danger.”

“I’m fine with that.” Nfirea agreed with a nod. “But try to get back to the group as soon as you can.”

“Of course.” Momon said easily as he and Nabe headed into the forest first.

-Deep Forest-

“I think this is far enough.” Momon stopped walking. Nabe stopped dutifully behind him. The pair had cleared a considerable distance from the rest of the group now, close to five-hundred meters, give or take. “Now…why don’t we talk about spreading my great name?” He spoke loudly.

“Sounds good!” A female voice called back.

Nabe whirled around with her hand glowing with Magic as she aimed it at the speaker up in the nearby tree.

“Careful Narberal, that looks dangerous.” Aura smiled and waved down to the Pleiades Battle Maid.

“Oh, Lady Aura, I’m sorry, you startled me.” Narberal apologized to the Floor Guardian.

Aura grinned at the Doppelganger woman. “My bad…” She sing-songed.

“How long were you here?” Narberal asked curiously.

“Since you and Lord Momonga entered the forest by yourselves.” Aura replied with a little giggle.

“I didn’t sense your presence at all.” Narberal admitted to being incapable of detecting the Dark Elf.

Aura leapt down from the tree branch, aiming for Momonga.

Momonga’s helmet and gauntlets vanished in a swirl of blue light as he caught Aura in his arms gently. He smiled down at her and Aura beamed up at him. The Dark Elf leaned up and pecked Momonga’s cheek and then hopped out of his arms with a bashful smile.

‘Lucky…’ Narberal thought to herself, her expression not changing.

“So, let me guess, I need to find this Wise King of the Forest and send him your way? A creature like that could be of use, right?” Aura looked up at Momonga in anticipation.

“Correct. Up to it?” Momonga asked with a grin.

“Consider it done!” Aura smiled at him confidently. “I think I might know where it’s making its nest.” She held her chin with her hand, looking thoughtful.

“Excellent, I’m counting on you, Aura.” Momonga gently patted her head, making the Dark Elf girl giggle happily.

“See ya!” Aura leapt into the forest with a bright smile on her face to fulfill her new orders. She’d do her absolute best for Lord Momonga! How could she not when he’d allowed her to kiss his cheek and even patted her head! The rustling of branches and the sound of feet touching he ground got her attention. “Fenn! Quadracile! Are you two ready to help me out?”

A massive black wolf with golden streaks within its pitch-black fur appeared from Aura’s left. On her right a huge lizard, that looked like a demonic chameleon, emerged from the undergrowth. Both of these creatures were some of Aura’s tamed pets, Fenn being a Level 78 magical beast known as a Fenrir, while Quadracile was an Itzamna, a lizard beast, of a similar level. Fenn barked and Quadracile hissed, both displaying their happiness to help their mistress hunt down her prey.

Back with Momonga and Narberal, the Battle Maid looked towards her Lord.

“What are you planning to do, my Lord?” Narberal questioned curiously.

Momonga looked over at her with a small smirk. “I will fight the Wise King, of course.”

“Was the battle against the Ogres not a sufficient show of your strength?” Narberal asked him.

“Hardly.” Momonga shook his head. “Killing an Ogre with one swing is nothing compared to besting a Legendary Magical Beast. If I want rumors of the Adventurer Momon to spread within E-Rantel, then I need to do something that they can’t ignore.” He explained, his gauntlets and helmet reappearing in the same swirl of blue light that they’d disappeared in.

“I see.” Nabe bowed her head as she followed along behind Momon as they headed back towards the Swords of Darkness and Nfirea.

-Wise King of the Forest’s Den-

“Hmm?” Aura peeked her head into the large burrow that she’d found. One either side of the hole, Fenn and Quadracile looked into the den as well. “Stay here.” Aura ordered her pets as she snuck into the burrow, keeping her steps light as she approached the loud snoring of the beast. “I kinda wanted to take a shot at this thing, myself. But orders are orders.” The Dark Elf girl shrugged and exhaled a thin purple cloud that touched the Wise King of the Forest’s sleeping form.

“SHREEE!!!” The fur of the large beast stood on end as it abruptly awoke in a panic, feeling a threat nearby.

“We’re outta here!” Aura bolted back out of the burrow and leapt onto Fenn’s back, the Fenrir bolted into the forest, Quadracile following along right behind. The trio were far away when the Wise King of the Forest charged out of its den in a rage.

-Escort Group-

“Hm?!” Dyne looked up a second before birds flew out of the forest in a great flock a distance away. “Something’s happened!”

Lukrut put his ear to the ground with a serious face. “I don’t like this… Something big is coming straight towards us!”

“Is it the Wise King of the Forest?” Nfirea asked, worried that the Legendary Beast had found their presence within its territory as a challenge.

“Don’t worry, leave it to us.” Momon spoke up as he and Nabe put themselves between the incoming creature and the others.

“Sure.” Peter agreed with the stronger warrior’s words.

“We’re counting on you.” Dyne nodded as he and Ninya helped Nfirea carry the gathered herbs and book it towards the entrance of the forest. Lukrut and Peter taking up the rear as they headed for the safety of the village.

A moment after the others had left, Momon realized something. “Hmm, how will others know that I actually took on the Wise King of the Forest if they don’t see me do it?” He should’ve had at least one member of the Swords of Darkness stay behind to see it. “Maybe if I cut off one of its legs as proof?”

Nabe drew her sword, interpreting Momon’s words as an order to hack off one of the creature’s limbs.

The crashing sound of the beast charging through the forest got louder and louder. A large dust cloud could be seen between the trees as Momon drew his black sword from his waist.

“Let’s greet our guest properly.” Momon readied his blade.

“SCREEEAAAHHH!!!” The beast roared and a blur came lancing straight at Momon.

“Hah!” Momon deflected the strike, seeing that it was some kind of scaled tail, before it withdrew into the forest. “The hell?”

“A magnificent job blocking my first attack, that it was.” A voice came from the trees.

“Well, I stand to gain from defeating you, so…come on out. Don’t be shy.” Momon responded to the voice of the Wise King of the Forest.

“Quite the brave one, that you are, invader!” The Wise King retorted as it emerged from the brush.

“What in the…?” Momon blinked and even Nabe looked surprised at the Legendary Beast’s appearance.

“Hoh hoh hoh! I can sense your fear and astonishment from beneath your helmet, that I can…” The Magical Beast laughed at the warrior before it.

“…I just have one question.” Momon could hardly believe he was about to ask this. “Are you really a Djungarian Hamster?”

“So that’s what you call my race, is it?” Indeed, the Wise King of the Forest was a gigantic hamster with brown-gray fur along its face and back, with cream fur along its underbelly. The only thing that made it different from hamsters back in Momonga’s old world was the prehensile and seemingly extendable reptilian tail the hamster had. “More importantly, invaders! We shall fight to the death, that we shall!” The massive hamster bared its teeth and readied its claws.

“Nabe…please stand back, fighting a hamster with backup is too embarrassing…” Momon sighed heavily at the outcome of this endeavor.

“Even if you regret those words, it’s too late to take them back, that it is!” The hamster leapt at Momon and spun, looking to bowl him over in the first move.

“Hmh!” Momon slammed his sword against the charging beast, stomping its charge, back realizing that his blade wasn’t cutting through the hamster’s fur. The Wise King leapt backwards and landed on the forest floor with ease. ‘It’s hide is harder than lower-grade metals…’ Momon noted of the beast.

“Magnificent, that it was! But what about this?” The Wise King stood on its hind legs and adopted a cute look. [Charm Species] was a Magic that the massive hamster had access to naturally.

Unfortunately, while it would work on weaker beings than itself, it didn’t effect those it was facing at all. Nabe’s expression was still completely stoic, while Momon didn’t feel anything through his Psychic Immunity.

“Hm?!” The Wise King realized that its tactic hadn’t worked and dropped down to all fours again, lashing out with a lighting quick strike from its scaled tail. Momon parried the strike, only for the tail to bend and the tip to graze the back of his armor. “So we’ve each attacked once, we have…”

‘It managed to graze my back a little…’ Momon narrowed his eyes behind his helmet. ‘But still… The Wise King of the Forest…isn’t very bright.’ The giant hamster seemed to be capable of speech and some low-level Magic, but other than its semi-decent robustness, it wasn’t very impressive. “We’re done.”

“Hey! The fight is not yet finished, that it’s not!” The Wise King reared up into an aggressive stance.

Momon stared the beast down and let his Deity Aura crash down on the Wise King of the Forest. The debuff was immense given their vast Level difference and the giant hamster’s fur all stood on end in fear and panic before it collapsed backwards.

“D-Defeated me, you have! Surrender, I do! P-Please have mercy!” The Wise King requested with a resigned tone as it lay on its back in submission.

“It’s just a helpless animal…” Momon sighed as he reigned in his Skill. “What a letdown. This was a complete waste of time.”

“Are you going to kill it?” Aura asked as she hopped down from a tree branch that was overlooking the clearing that the short fight had taken place in. “If you are, I’d like to skin it! It looks like it has a nice pelt!” She looked up at Momon with sparkling eyes, begging to get her way.

“Please…don’t.” The Wise King was nearly crying as it held its reptilian tail over its soft underbelly.

Momon’s left gauntlet disappeared in a blue light and he patted Aura’s head affectionately, making the Dark Elf girl coo happily. She’d just looked too adorable when she wanted something like this.

“My name is Momon, though you will know me as Ainz Ooal Gown, you shall call me Master in the presence of others.” Momon spoke to the downed hamster. “Do this, and I shall spare your life.”

“I-I thank you, that I do!” The massive hamster was quickly nuzzling against Momon’s armor affectionately. “In exchange for sparing my life, I give you absolute loyalty, that I do!”

“Tch!” Aura pouted a little at not getting a new pelt. Though seeing the giant hamster snuggling up to Lord Momonga was cute in its own way.

‘Filthy beast.’ Nabe thought, starring deadpan at the hamster nuzzling against her Master…and crush.

‘Coming back with this thing isn’t going to spook anyone…’ Momon sighed heavily at his depressing thoughts.

-Outside the Forest-

“No way…!” Nfirea stared at the Magical Beast that Momon and Nabe had brought back with them.

“THE WISE KING OF THE FOREST?!” The Swords of Darkness cried out in unison.

“Be at ease, this one is under my control now, you are in no danger.” Momon assured the other five.

“My Master speaks the truth, so long as he wills it, I shall not harm any human.” The Wise King nodded its head, staying on all fours to look less threatening to the weaker humans.

“Amazing… What an awe-inspiring creature…” Ninya breathed out, staring at the giant hamster.

“Huh…?” Momon nearly faltered at hearing those words.

Dyne raised a hand in front of himself. “I can feel great strength and wisdom radiating from it!”

‘Great strength…wisdom?!’ Momon couldn’t believe that anyone would think that about the giant fluff ball.

“Your feats really know no bounds!” Lukrut praised Momon for defeating the Wise King of the Forest and taming it.

Peter ran a hand through his short hair in shock. “No kidding, you’re incredible Mr. Momon! We would’ve been massacred if we tried to take on a Magical Beast of this caliber!”

Momon blinked, realizing that he had no understanding of this new world’s standards. “What do you think, Nabe?”

“Putting its strength aside, its eyes do have a gleam of magic power behind them.” Nabe gave her honest opinion of the massive hamster.

“Really?” Momon didn’t see it, but maybe he just didn’t know what to look for?

Ninya stepped up and clasped hands with Momon, looking up at the warrior with sparkling eyes. “Mr. Momon! You tamed such an impressive Magical Beast! Let’s make our triumphant return!”

“…Triumphant return?” Momon didn’t know what to think of this world’s standards anymore.

-Evening ~ E-Rantel-

Getting back to E-Rantel had taken the rest of the day, the group having passed through the gates just before they were closed for the night. Momon was glad that no one could see his face thanks to his helmet, riding a giant hamster into town was not his idea of ‘cool’ or ‘impressive’. If anything, it was just embarrassing.

“You’ll need to register the Wise King as your tamed Magical Beast with the Guild, Mr. Momon.” Peter mentioned as they were getting close to the building.

“I see.” Momon hopped off the hamster’s back. “Is that just something I have to ask the receptionist about?”

“I’ll come with you to help, Mr. Momon.” Ninya offered with a smile.

“Good idea, we need to turn in the completed Quest form anyway.” Lukrut mentioned looking over to Peter.

“One second.” Peter held out the folded up Quest paper to Nfirea. Once the Pharmacist signed it as complete, Peter handed it over to Ninya. “We’ll finish helping Mr. Bareare unload this haul at his shop, then we can meet up for drinks!”

“Since I gathered so many medicinal herbs this time around, I’ll make sure to add extra to your pay.” Nfirea smiled at the group of Adventurers.

“Much obliged, Mr. Bareare.” Dyne smiled back at the younger man. More money meant either more drinks or better drinks tonight!

With that, the two groups parted ways for a short time. Momon, Nabe, and Ninya to the Guild. While Peter, Lukrut, Dyne, and Nfirea went to the Bareare Apothecary.

-Apothecary-

“Hup!” Dyne set another bag of the fresh medicinal herbs on the floor in the back storage room.

Lukrut put down the next box in the corner. “We really did get a good haul for Mr. Bareare, huh?”

“That’s why he’s giving us the extra pay.” Peter chuckled as he sat a sack of herbs next to the one that Dyne had put down.

“I’ll get you some of the cold fruit water that we have in the kitchen.” Nfirea set down a third bag of herbs on the table.

“Much obliged.” Peter thanked him with a nod.

The door to the main building opened without anyone being close enough to touch it. In the dim light of the lantern that Nfirea had lit when they started unloading the wagon, a woman in a black cloak could be seen.

“Hi! Welcome home, kiddo!” Clementine grinned at Nfirea, her red eyes glinting with cruel amusement.

“Who might you be?” Nfirea questioned the woman, not having a developed sense of danger like the three Adventurers with him.

Clementine let out a little giggle. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that~ Someone I know requires your Talent, is all.”

“Nfirea, get behind us!” Peter grabbed the Pharmacist’s shoulder and pulled hm away from the dangerous woman. Dyne took the right side and Lukrut took the left, making a wall between Nfirea and the woman.

“This lady is dangerous! You need to run!” Lukrut hollered to Nfirea, drawing his shortsword.

Dyne pulled out his mace. “Get to the Guild! You’ll be safe there, Mr. Bareare!”

“Ahahahaha!” Clementine laughed at the idea that anyone in the E-Rantel Adventurer’s Guild stood the slightest chance against her. “I think I’m going to have fun playing with you three~!” Her grin became predatory, her eyes glinting with delight. The ones that fought the hardest were always the most fun!

“[Ray of Negative Energy]!” A gravelly voice cast from the back door that the four men had been using to bring the loads of herbs inside.

“AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!” The Swords of Darkness were thrown to the far wall and hit the ground in a heap. Sparks of blackness leapt off their bodies for a short time after they hit the ground before disappearing.

“Hey! Khajy!” Clementine growled out, glaring angrily at the old necromancer.

“[Sleep]!” Khajit cast on Nfirea as he tried to run. The spell took hold and Nfirea fell unconscious. “We don’t have time for you to play, Clementine!”

Clementine sneered at Khajit. “You’re starting to get on my nerves, old man.” Beneath her cloak, her right hand twitched towards her stilettos.

“Take your meaningless trophies and lets go.” Khajit picked Nfirea up like a sack of rice and carried him off into the night.

“Tch!” Clementine tsked angrily. If there was one thing she hated, it was having her fun ruined by orders from someone that was weaker than her! “Sorry about him, he’s a real stick in the mud.” She apologized to the three dead men that had been ready to fight her even though they knew that they had no chance. “I’m sure we would’ve had tons of fun together…too bad~” She tore off the three Silver Plates and added them to her armor. Her strength was more than enough to mold the thin metal so that it stuck to the other plates that covered the armor she was wearing, one on each pauldron and the last one on her small breastplate. “Well, better leave the distraction.” She pulled out one of her stilettos and stabbed each of the three corpses in the heart. With the fresh blood she wrote ‘The sewers’ on the wall next to the bodies, making it look like it had been written by one of the dying Adventurers as a last message.

Her job done, Clementine left the storeroom and vanished into the night, headed for the cemetery.

-Guild-

“Ugh, I can’t believe I had to pay for the drawing.” Momon sighed out at the process required to register Hamsuke, the name he’d decided on for the Wise King of the Forest. ‘Even the King part is a misnomer since she’s female…’ That had just been Momon being blunt and asking Hamsuke her gender when the Guild had asked as part of the registration process.

“Still, they have to be thorough, Mr. Momon. Especially with a Magical Beast of this caliber.” Ninya gave the warrior a smile.

“Say…” An old woman approached the small group. “Are you the Dark Knight that my grandson hired to collect herbs with him?”

‘Could this be?’ Momon looked at the lady, taking in her clothing and the fact that she had two small vials of potion strapped to the front of her apron. “And you are?”

“Lizzie Bareare,” Lizzie introduced herself. “Nfirea’s grandmother.” She looked at Hamsuke in some surprise. “This Magical Beast…could it be…?”

“It’s the Wise King of the Forest, I tamed it earlier today.” Momon confirmed her suspicions.

“My name is Hamsuke, that it is!” Hamsuke stated proudly of her new name.

“Ooh, that’s quite a feat…” Lizzie looked impressed. “I didn’t think the Wise King was an overgrown rodent though!”

“That’s the Wise King of the Forest?!”

“Who is that guy riding it?”

Momon was glad that his feat was spreading now, but it still felt humiliating to be seen riding Hamsuke around. “My name is Momon, this is my partner, Nabe.” He introduced himself and Nabe to Lizzie.

“My name is Ninya, ma’am.” Ninya bowed to the famous Pharmacist.

“Did Nfirea make it back, okay?” Lizzie asked after her grandson’s wellbeing.

“Yes, he and the others should be finishing up at your house as we speak.” Momon confirmed with a polite nod.

“That’s where I’m heading.” Lizzie smiled at Momon. “Care to escort a fair maiden?” She chuckled at her own little joke.

“It would be my pleasure.” Momon agreed as he hopped off of Hamsuke and helped Lizzie atop the giant hamster’s back.

“Oh my, I’d feel like royalty if the Wise King wasn’t a giant rodent.” Lizze laughed as they made their way towards her home.

-Apothecary-

“That’s odd…why is it so dark if they’ve been working?” Lizzie wondered as she made her way to the front door of the shop. “Did they unload everything in the dark?” She pulled out her key, only to find the door was unlocked. “Did Nfirea leave this unlocked for us? That’s careless…any grubby-handed thief could’ve snuck in and taken things straight off the shelves.” She opened the door and walked inside with Momon, Nabe, and Ninya following behind her. “Nfirea! Mr. Momon is here to meet up with the others!” Not getting a reply, Lizzie cocked an eyebrow.

“Something isn’t right.” Momon stepped forward while drawing his sword. He held it in front of him, knowing that he couldn’t slash in a narrow hallway. ‘I’ll have to rely on thrusting attacks if an enemy shows up.’ He grabbed hold of the unshakable core inside of him to keep himself mentally sound and in control as he moved towards the back of the shop.

“What’s wrong?” Lizzie looked confused as the armored Adventurer moved forward, heading for the back storeroom, Nabe had her sword out as she followed him. Ninya stayed close to Lizzie to protect her as they followed after Momon and Nabe.

“Where does this lead?” Momon questioned, pointing down a short hallway.

“To the storeroom where we keep the medicinal herbs.” Lizzie answered quickly.

Momon walked down the hallway and threw open the door quickly.

“P-Peter…Dyne…Lukrut…?” Ninya wobbled in place at seeing his teammates dead on the floor. “N-No way…”

“They’ve been murdered?!” Lizzie looked around the room for any trace of her grandson. “I don’t see Nfirea!”

“Ugh…” Peter’s body twitched and slowly got up off the floor.

“Guh…” Lukrut’s body stood as well, looking over at the four living people with dead eyes.

“Uuah…” Dyne’s body slowly staggered to its feet.

“They’re zombies!” Lizzie staggered backwards away from the undead stumbling into the shellshocked Ninya.

“Hmph!” Momon stepped forward, now in a room that he could swing his sword in he decapitated Peter and Lukrut’s zombies and then cut down Dyne’s zombie before the undead could lift the mace in its hand.

Lizzie shot to her feet and ran back into the main building in a panic. “NFIREA!!! Nfirea, where are you?!”

Ninya seemed to have mentally shutdown, just staring at the defeated undead forms of his friends.

Momon and Nabe shared a look, both knowing that something else was going on here and that, for whatever reason, it was centered on Nfirea.

“He’s not here! Someone’s taken my Nfirea!” Lizzie cried out as she re-entered the storeroom.

Momon pointed to the bloody writing on the far wall. “Look at this.”

“The sewers?” Lizzie read the message. “Does that mean Nfirea’s been taken into the sewers?!”

“I doubt it.” Momon shook his head, able to keep focused thanks to the immovable core of his being. “Whoever did this didn’t even bother hiding the bodies. They’re not trying to buy time. This seems more like misdirection.”

“Nothing has been stolen.” Nabe mentioned, seeing the packs of the three Adventurers still unopened near the doorway.

“This wasn’t burglary…they killed them and then took Nfirea.” Momon nodded in agreement. “Ninya.” He kneeled down to be at eye level with the stunned Adventurer. “You need to wake up.” He lightly shook the Magic user until the blue eyes focused on him. “I need you to report this to the Guild. They need to know that people capable of killing Silver Plate Adventurers have kidnapped Nfirea Bareare.”

“I…but…” Ninya looked over to his dead teammates again.

“You need to stay with us, Ninya!” Momon lightly shook the other Adventurer again. “Go to the Guild, tell them what has happened!”

Ninya was pulled to his feet and finally seemed to regain his senses. “Y-Yes, Mr. Momon!” Without looking back Ninya ran from the Apothecary and towards the Guild as fast as possible.

“I’m sorry about your friends.” Lizzie offered her condolences.

Momon shook his head. “We’d only just met them and worked together on your grandson’s Quest. But they were good people.” He stood up after looking over the bodies once more. “[Create Undead] is a Third Tier spell… They have a competent Magic user amongst their number. But I can’t tell if the stab wounds to their hearts are what killed them and then they were raised, or if they were stabbed after being hit with enough Negative Energy to turn them into undead afterwards.” Momon turned to look at Lizzie. “How do you want to handle this?”

“What do you mean?” Lizzie looked confused by the question.

“What happened here was a tragedy, and the people that took your grandson have no qualms about showing the power that they’re willing to use for their own ends.” Momon spoke to the old woman as he stood to his full height. “How about making a request?”

“A request?” Lizzie looked up at the armored man.

“You’re in luck, Lizzie Bareare, I’m the strongest Adventurer in town. I can save your grandson from these dangerous people.” Momon stated plainly and without arrogance, as if he was simply talking facts. “If you make a request, I will accept it. But my services don’t come cheap.”

Lizzie looked at him like he was dumb. “You can have whatever you want! Just save my Nfirea and bring him home safe!”

“Then I’ll take everything you have.” Momon stated his price to the old woman.

Lizzie’s eyes widened and she took a half-step backwards from Momon. “I’ve heard tales of demons that can grant any wish in exchange for your soul… You’re not a demon, are you?”

“Think of it as less of a pact, and more as offering a prayer.” Momon told Lizzie his eyes shifting through their myriad colors behind his helmet.

“I’ll do it! You’re hired!” Lizzie agreed without hesitation. “Go save my Nfirea!”

“We will, but first we must use some Magic to locate him.” Momon told her and motioned for her to exit the storeroom. Lizzie did so quickly, fine with just about anything as long as her grandson was saved.

In a short time, Momon and Nabe were looking over a map of E-Rantel that was spread out over the table. “How will we find out where the boy was taken, my Lord?” Nabe asked, knowing that Momonga would have an idea.

Momon looked at her and then over at the bodies that they’d covered with sheets found in the storeroom. “The criminals made one mistake. Although they didn’t steal anything from their packs, each man’s Adventurer Plate was taken…any guess as to why?”

“The plates are worthless, so I’m not sure.” Nabe replied, expressionless.

“They’re hunting trophies. I’m assuming one of the culprits collects them. That’s good news for us, because now we have something to track.” Momon reached out with his hand and it disappeared into the black void of his Inventory. He pulled out a sack and set it on the table before opening it. “We’ll use the [Locate Object] Scroll.” He tossed the Spell Scroll to Nabe, the maid catching it easily. “You already know how to use it, let’s find ourselves some plates.”

“I’ll activate it right now.” Nabe acknowledged the order.

Momon stopped her though. “Hold on. The enemy may have set the counter-spell [Detect: Locate], so we need to cast [Fake Cover] and [Counter: Detection].” He placed two more scrolls on the table. “To be absolutely sure that we aren’t countered or deceived, we’ll use many spells.” Momon laid out a dozen spell scrolls containing various counter-spells. ‘Collecting information with Magic is dangerous, it’s all too easy to be attacked through the Divination or to be misled so that you walk into a trap. But with this many spells, we’ll be able to bypass any defenses they might have set up and find their location without fail.’

Nabe had finished using the twelve laid out scrolls and finally tossed the first scroll into the air to activate it. The parchment unrolled, revealing a Magic Circle and script below it, before it burst into blue flames. “[Locate Object].” Nabe ordered and the location of the missing Adventurer Plates was shown to her. “They’re right here.” She pointed to the cemetery on the map.

The door to the storeroom opened suddenly, startling Lizzie who’d been waiting with growing worry.

“We’ve found their location! We’re heading for the graveyard!” Momon declared as he and Nabe walked past the old woman.

“The graveyard? Why would they go there?!” Lizzie questioned, following along behind them.

“I’m not sure, but if the person that turned those men into zombies is a capable necromancer, we could be looking at an army of undead that numbers in the thousands.” Momon told her as they exited the Apothecary. “Hamsuke, take Lizzie to the Guild quickly, she needs to tell them about the potential of an undead outbreak.”

“Yes, Master, do that, I shall!” Hamsuke happily accepted the order as Lizzie was placed on her back.

Lizzie took a tight hold of Hamsuke. “I’ll have them send every Adventurer in the city, if necessary, you have my word!” A second later and Hamsuke took off at speed, heading for the Guild.

“Now, let’s head out, Nabe.” Momon looked at her and received a nod. “[Fly]!” The charm on the necklace he wore glowed, surrounding Momon in a light blue glow as he lifted off the ground.

“[Fly].” Nabe cast the spell on herself and flew after Momon dutifully.

-Cemetery-

“Another quiet night, it seems.” One guard smiled at his buddy.

“I’m fine with that.” The other man chuckled as he glanced up at the full moon.

A younger man, only having been with the guard for a few months, sighed. “I ‘ve only seen action twice ever, and it was just a couple of skeletons and two zombies.”

“You’ll relish these quiet nights after your first horde, buddy.” One of the older guard scoffed at the younger man. “It always starts the same too. A scent of freshly dug soil, and then the moaning and wailing begins, next thing you know you have a hundred or more undead trying to break through the gate, and they’ll kill anyone they get their rotting hands on.”

“Speaking of freshly dug soil…” The first guard sniffed. “Do you smell that?”

All of the guards stiffened up as the scent carried on the slight breeze. Then the faint sound of undead moaning began from a distance.

“Shit!” The oldest guard cursed.

“Fucking jinxed it!” Another guard bit out as they quickly locked the gate and fortified it with heavy iron bars.

It only a short time, hundreds if not thousands of low-level undead were filling the cemetery and bashing against the gate. Even larger variants with twisted and grotesque features were appearing and reaching for the soldiers on top of the wall.

“Damn it! Die!” The youngest guard stabbed the head of one zombie and then another and then another. “Where did they all come from?!”

“Get back!” The older guard pulled the younger backwards as the reaching tendrils of one of the amalgamation zombies nearly grabbed the young man. “Call for backup! We need Adventurers!” He yelled out the order loudly while hacking off the tendrils of the large undead that was trying to scale the wall.

“What the hell is that thing?!” One of the guards pointed to a misshapen pile of writhing flesh that was at least five meters tall shambling towards the gate.

“Fuck!” Another guard swiped his spear, knocking a handful of zombie off the edge of the wall and back into the swarming horde below. “We can’t hold them!”

The arrival of two people caught the attention of the oldest guard. Seeing that armor of the larger one, he brightened up. “Adventurers!” Then he saw the Copper Plates around their necks. “Oh… You’re both worthless Coppers… Run and get some real Adventurers if you want to be useful!”

“You’ll find that we’re more than enough.” Momon spoke as he drew his sword, the black blade only visible because of the full moon’s light. With a powerful leap, Momon cleared the wall and cut down the flesh abomination in a single swing.

“By the Gods…”

“How’d he do that?!”

Nabe flew over the wall easily, watching Momon hack through the entire horde quickly with his sword. ‘Such low-level undead aren’t even a challenge. A particularly strong tap would destroy them.’

In only a few moments, the guards went from nearly being overwhelmed, to not even hearing any undead noises from the other side of the wall.

“Wh-Where did the undead go?” The youngest guard questioned shakily.

The oldest guard looked over the edge and nearly choke on his own breath. “I don’t believe it…” The entire area was littered with the strew bodies of the undead horde. Even the amalgamations had been cut down with ruthless efficiency. “I think we just witnessed the rise of a Hero…”

-Main Mausoleum-

The large building in the center of the cemetery was coming into view through the fog that rolled through the graveyard. As Momon walked through the cemetery, all of the undead that tried to get close to him simply fell and died.

‘Deity Aura still has the destruction effect it seems.’ Momon was glad to confirm that.

As a Unique Racial Skill, Deity Aura could buff allies and debuff enemies. But it had a secondary feature that Momonga had only found out about after getting to a high-level once again. Any enemy mob that was debuffed below ‘0’ in their stats would be destroyed. It didn’t work on Players, but the Devs had added the hidden feature to the Skill and Momonga had rarely ever used it because most of the mobs he dealt with had stats far too high to ever reach ‘0’ much less go into the negatives. At Level 100 though, these low-level undead were dying en masse from the level disparity of his debuff versus their pitiful stats as soon as they got in range.

“I think that finishes up the horde.” Momon spoke as Nabe walked beside him.

“Yes, my Lord.” Nabe confirmed, using [Enemy Detection] to keep watch for any hostile forces. There wasn’t a single enemy left in the large cemetery, except for the ones ahead of them at the mausoleum. “Should we sneak attack them?

“No, it seems like they already know we’re here.” Momon noticed that the muttering of some ritual or another had stopped the moment they came into view.

“Master Khajit, they’re already here.” One of the cloaked men spoke.

‘Well, now we know they’re stupid, using names in front of an outsider…’ Momon did briefly consider that it could be a fake name, but decided to use it anyway. “Good evening, Mr. Khajit, are we interrupting your ritual?”

“Tch!” Khajit nearly hissed at the idiot that had spoken his name. “Who are you? How did you get past my army of undead?”

“You’ll find that all of your undead have been slain.” Momon replied, not giving his name to the necromancer. “As for who I am? I’m just an Adventurer that took a job. I’m looking for a certain boy that’s been kidnapped.”

“Are you the only ones? Any others?” Khajit fished for information on the force that was coming to disrupt his ritual.

‘Why would he expect an enemy to tell him the truth?’ Momon was about to just label this ‘Khajit’ guy as a pawn. “It’s just us.”

“Impossible!” Khajit denied with a scoff.

Momon briefly wanted to chuckle at the situation of telling the necromancer the truth, only to not be believed. “As for you, there’s at least one other, right? Someone with a piercing weapon.”

“No, it’s just…” Khajit began to lie, but a voice interrupted him.

“Ah-ha! You took the time to look over the corpses.” Clementine emerged from the crypt, covered in her black cloak once more.

“Go back in.” Khajit glared over his shoulder at her.

“Khajy…” Clementine grinned when she saw the old man grimace at the mocking nickname. “This guy has already figured us out. What’s the point in hiding?” She looked over at the armored Adventurer with a teasing grin. “How about it, big guy? Don’t you want to tell sweet, little me your name? My name’s Clementine~…The pleasure is mine.” Her grin became wicked.

“I’ll be your opponent tonight, call me Momon.” Momon replied without a hint of fear or concern.

“Oh~ You’re confident!” Clementine giggled a bit. “So, do you wanna tell me how you figured out we came to the cemetery?” It was clear that she barely cared beyond the fact that they’d been tracked at all.

Momon pointed at her. “It was you that led us here.” Clementine looked confused at the accusation. “Open your cloak.”

“Oh, hey now, you’re making me blush!” Clementine wrapped her arms around herself with a laugh. “And I like it~” She pulled her cloak open and thrust out her chest, the cleavage of her breasts revealed prominently along with her Adventurer Plate covered armor. “You mean these~?” She asked, not clarifying if Momon was talking about the plates on her armor or her tits.

“Those plates told us where you were.” Momon explained without telling them anything.

‘The plates did?’ Clementine rolled that around in her head for a moment. She vaguely recalled something about a spell that could find objects as long as they weren’t hidden by certain Magics.

“Nabe, exterminate Khajit and his followers.” Momon ordered easily, still holding onto the immovable core of his being.

“It shall be done, my Lord.” Nabe bowed respectfully.

“Keep an eye on the sky.” Momon whispered to the Battle Maid as he began to walk away.

“Lord.” Nabe acknowledged his order and then stood to her full height as she looked over at the Khajit and the seven men with him with utter apathy.

Momon began walking off away from the Magic users. “Clementine, why don’t we kill each other over here?”

“Mmm, okay!” Clemetine grinned, leaping down form the top step of the mausoleum and walking after him with her hands behind her head, cloak still wide open and showing off her body.

Once the two warriors had vanished into the foggy distance, Nabe and Khajit, along with his followers, stared each other down.

“A single girl is harmless.” Khajit scoffed at Nabe.

Nabe only smirked just slightly before holding her hand out to either side, her arms fully extended. “[Twin Maximize Magic: Electrosphere]!” Tow powerfully crackling orbs of lightning formed in Nabe’s hands. Without a second of warning she launched them forward at Khajit and his seven followers.

BOOM

The screams of the en were drowned out by the blast and when the bright blue-white light died down, it revealed that all seven of the followers were dead, their corpses smoking, while Khajit looked unharmed.

“Heh heh heh…impressive.” Khajit chuckled mockingly.

Nabe was less than amused that she hadn’t been able to fulfill her Lord’s order as quickly as possible. Her stoic face barely showed her annoyance with Khajit though. “How annoying. Why don’t you just roll over and die like a good little rodent?”

-Momon vs Clementine-

“So… Were those men that died in town friends of yours?” Clementine asked nonchalantly, clearly not caring. “Did you come here to avenge them or something like that?” She snickered behind her hand.

“No, I barely new them.” Momon replied as they continued walking a bit further. “We’d only just gotten back from our first job that we’d ever worked on together.”

“Huh, so that’s why your not mad?” Clementine sighed at the lack of reaction. “Well that’s no fun…”

“Tell me something, did you kill them with the stab through the heart, or were they killed and left to turn into undead by Khajit back there?” Momon came to a stop.

Clementine cocked an eyebrow at the question as she came to a stop. “Why would that matter? You just said that they weren’t your friends, right~?” Not getting any response, Clementine pouted at Momon. “Fine, if you must know, that stick in the mud Khajit killed them before I could have any fun. He’s a real pain in the ass sometimes!” She grinned viciously at Momon’s back. “If it had been me, they would’ve been stabbed, cut, had some bones broken, anything I could do to have a little fun~”

“So, you’re a sadist?” Momon looked at Clementine over his shoulder. ‘I guess disturbed people exist in every world.’ At least it was just violence in this case. ‘And isn’t that a sad thought?’ Momon nearly sighed, comparing the violence of a single person against the greed and destruction that ran rampant in his old world, all for a very small number of wealthy psychopaths to keep making money and living in luxury while the world died.

“I suppose you could call me that~” Clementine shrugged with a predatory grin. “Does that piss you off?”

Momon turned to face her. “Not really. They were in the way of you completing your goal, so you got rid of them. I don’t doubt that I would’ve done the same if necessary.” Clementine raised one eyebrow at his admittance to being willing to murder to get what he wanted. “However, those men were part of my plan to spread my name and reputation. They were going to tell others of my deeds at bars and inns, letting others know of me and my prowess. But now they’re dead…which means that your little group got in my way.” He pointed the tip of his blade at her.

“Ooh~ A man after my own heart!” Clementine moved her curvy body in a sensuous wave. “Literally, it seems!” She laughed, seeing that the tip of Momon’s sword was pointed towards her heart. “Ah…fabulous~ But I promise that there’s no way that you can beat me by yourself! Too bad you left your little spell caster with Khajit. He gets to kill her, no fun for me!”

“Nabe could kill you just as easy as I can.” Momon assured her.

“You’re hilarious!” Clementine laughed as she held her hand up. “I know all the people that can put up a real fight in this country; even if that’s still next to no one.” She held up her index finger to start counting them off. “There’s Gazef Stronoff, Gagaran from the Blue Roses, Louisenberg Arbelion from Drop of Red, Brain Unglaus, and finally old Vesture Kloff di Laufen, who’s retired.” She had all five fingers extended now. “I’ve never heard of you, but just for your information…I’m in the Hero Realm. Lady Clementine can’t lose!”

Using God Eye, Momon saw her HP and MP as a cloud of prismatic light around her. ‘Judging by her amount, she’s probably equivalent to Level 32 or so.’ This wouldn’t be an issue. “That’s fine, I’ll give you a handicap.”

“Eh?” Clementine blinked before her eye twitched slightly. “You must be trying to piss me off…” She drew one of her stilettos and used the tip to undo the clasp of her cloak. When the black cloth fell to the ground, her body was fully revealed to Momon’s eyes for the first time.

“That’s an…interesting choice for a combat outfit.” Momon commented on the skimpy outfit. ‘At least it covers some of her vitals, I guess?’

Clementine giggled. “You like it? Maybe if you entertain me enough, I’ll let you have a feel before you die?” She teased mockingly, totally assured in her victory.

-Khajit vs Nabe-

“How foolish of you to jump right into your death.” Khajit mocked as he held a strange orb in his right hand. It visibly pulsed with a glowing light of power. “Even if you can use Third Tier Magic, you’re still an idiot.”

Nabe actually showed an expression as she glared at Khajit. “A worthless human like you…dares to call me an idiot?”

“We of Zurrernorn keep death close! You’re in our territory now!” Khajit declared as he raised the jewel in his hand above his head. “Behold the power of this Jewel of Death!”

The corpses of his followers move and slowly stood up, all seven of them made into zombies simultaneously.

‘[Create Undead] can’t raise multiple zombies at the same time.’ Nabe narrowed her eyes at the new undead and the jewel that Khajit held. ‘It must be that item. But why sacrifice his followers?’ She only needed to understand the necromancer’s strategy to be able to deal with it and fulfill her orders.

“That’s plenty! I’ve absorbed enough negative energy!” Khajit declared with a dark smirk.

“Keep an eye on the sky.”

Nabe’s eyes widened as she remembered Momon’s words. She leapt to the side just as massive dragon made of thousands and thousands of fused together bones slammed down on the spot that she’d just stood at. ‘Skeletal Dragon.’ Nabe looked more annoyed than anything at seeing this specific undead.

“Hahahahaha! Skeletal Dragons have complete resistance to Magic! Casters are helpless against them!” Khajit laughed loudly, taunting Nabe with his undead creation.

“In that case.” Nabe pulled her sheathed sword from her hip and tied it so that the scabbard wouldn’t come off. “I’ll just beat it to death.” She held the weapon at the ready, now using it as a bludgeoning weapon instead of a slashing one.

“ROOOAAARRRHHH!!!” The Skeletal Dragon roared loudly at Nabe.

-Momon vs Clementine-

Hearing the roar, Momon glanced over to the area where Nabe and Khajit were fighting. “Skeletal Dragon.” He easily identified the undead just by seeing part of it over the tops of some of the withered trees in the cemetery.

“Correct!” Clementine praised him with an amused grin. “You sure know your stuff! They’re a Caster’s worst nightmare since they’re immune to Magic. Your cute little friend is going to die without being able to do anything.”

“So you’re saying that she’s doomed to fail then?” Momon barely held back a laugh at Nabe losing to Khajit, Skeletal Dragon or not.

“You catch on quick.” Clementine’s grip on her stiletto tightened.

Momon held his sword at the ready. “I’m curious, do you have a way to get past the reach of my sword?”

“Maybe~” Clementine giggled as she sank into an odd stance, somewhere between a crouch and a runner’s starting position. Her right leg was extended behind her, her left legs was positioned in front, like she was kneeling, and her left hand was touching the ground with her palm. Without warning, she launched herself forward, low to the ground, the stiletto in her right hand poised to strike.

“Hmn!” Momon brought his sword down on the charging woman.

“[Impenetrable Fortress].” Clemetine activated a Martial Art and her stiletto blocked the longsword, not moving a centimeter form the impact. Without missing a fraction of a second, Clementine broke the deadlock and stabbed forward, the tip of her stiletto slammed into Momon’s pauldron and left a small dent. Clementine was forced to leap backwards to avoid the horizontal slash from Momon.

“Martial Arts…” Momon murmured to himself, now gaining some interest in this woman. ‘I sent Shalltear out to find people that were skilled in Martial Arts so that I could learn more about them and see if they could be used to strengthen Nazarick. But if I capture this woman, then we can start testing ideas out sooner.’

“Tough stuff…” Clementine looked at the tip of her stiletto, checking for damage. “What’s that armor made out of?” She grinned at Momon. “Well, no matter… Finding the weak point in someone’s armor is half the fun…it’s almost like foreplay~” Clementine shrugged a bit, not getting a reaction out of Momon. “I was hoping that I’d get to slice you up piece by agonizing piece until you couldn’t move anymore…too bad…can’t always get what you want~” She laughed briefly.

“So, you were just testing my armor?” Momon retook his stance. “I’m learning a lot from you.”

Clementine dropped down into her odd starting position again. “Ready for round two?” She launched forward at the same speed again, getting into Momon’s range in the blink of an eye. Momon swung faster this time, but Clementine now had a stiletto in each hand. “[Impenetrable Fortress]!” She blocked his sword without moving even slightly. When Momon broke the deadlock this time and angled his blade downward to slice he leg, she grinned wildly. “[Flow Acceleration]!” With inhuman reaction time and displaying a cat-like level of flexibility, Clementine leapt upwards, her body horizontal to the ground as the black sword passed beneath her. Her left hand lashed out and the tip of the stiletto aimed straight for Momon’s helmet visor. Momon turned his head, but Clementine adjusted her grip and still managed a stab into the edge of the visor before retreating. “Come on… If you keep giving me a handicap, you’re going to end up a corpse!”

“Goodness, I didn’t expect you to teach me so much about melee combat.” Momon replied, seemingly unhurt by her successful stab. “Like the importance of balancing your attacks and properly utilizing Martial Arts skills.”

“Huh? You just learned that?” Clementine looked bewildered for the first time. “What kind of warrior are you?” Raising her left stiletto she looked at the tip of the blade. “More importantly, why didn’t you take any damage after my attack hit home?” She licked the blade with the tip of her tongue, a purring giggle escaping her lips. “Tell me, was it a defense Skill?”

“You have my gratitude.” Momon told her with a nod. “I wish we could keep playing longer, but I don’t have the time right now. You’ll have to show me what else you have to offer at a later date. For now, playtime has to end.” He looked over toward the roaring Skeletal Dragon. “Narberal Gamma! Show them the power of Nazarick!”

-Nabe vs Khajit-

Nabe bashed the Skeletal Dragon across the face with her sheathed sword, shattering bone and knocking the undead to the ground.

“How?! What are you?!” Khajit demanded as he pointed his staff at Nabe. “No Caster should be able to generate that much physical force!” He held up the Jewel of Death. ‘I’ve been planning for all of these years…’ He nearly spat as he cast. “[Ray of Negative Energy]!” The black beam struck the downed Skeletal Dragon and the fractured and shattered bones reformed quickly.

“RRROOOAAARRR!!!” The Skeletal Dragon got back up with a bellowing roar.

‘So, despite its resistance to Magic, certain types can still be used to heal it?’ Nabe grimaced and smashed her sheathed sword into the undead, once more shattering bones and staggering the dragon. ‘But then that worm just heals it again.’ The Battle Maid tsked at seeing another [Ray of Negative Energy] hot the Skeletal Dragon and restore the damaged parts.

“You can’t win! I refuse to let you win!” Khajit declared with a growl. “I’ll finish you off right here! Jewel of Death!” he held the pulsing jewel up high again. Form the ground burst a mountain of bones, the various pieces all fused together until a second Skeletal Dragon stood next to the first.

“RRROOOAAARRR!!!”

“RRROOOAAARRR!!!”

“Unfortunately, I’ve used up all of the Negative Energy that I’ve collected thus far.” Khajit looked at the worn out Jewel of Death. “Only a minor setback. Once I kill you and bring death to E-Rantel, it’ll be replenished tenfold!”

‘I wish this lower lifeform would stop talking.’ Nabe nearly groaned internally. She rushed the two Skeletal Dragon, dodged a claw swipe, a stomp, and then bashed the new one across the head, sending it staggering as bone fragments flew through the air.

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” The first Skeletal Dragon swiped her out of the air and tried to crush her against the ground. The impact threw up a cloud of dust and dirt from the sheer force of the blow.

“Hahahaha! Yes! Crush her!” Khajit laughed at finally doing away with the girl. “Huh?”

“Nrrrnnn…” Nabe had blocked the attack with her sword, her feet were cratering the ground as she held back the Skeletal Dragons claws. With a grunt of exertion, Nabe shoved the Skeletal Dragon backwards, nearly knocking it over as it almost lost its balance.

“Just who in the hell are you?! How could you have such physical strength without the aid of a Martial Arts skill?!” Khajit demanded, none of this making sense to the old man.

“I was created by Supreme Beings that not even the Gods of this world could fathom.” Nabe answered blankly and without care.

“Are you mocking me, girl?!” Khajit yelled at her angrily.

Nabe sighed lowly. “You can’t even comprehend the truth when you hear it. Pathetic worm.” She looked at him with cold indifference.

“Ugh! Crush her, Skeletal Dragons!” Khajit would kill this insolent girl once and for all!

“Narberal Gamma! Show them the power of Nazarick!”

Both Khajit and Nabe looked towards the source of the yell, knowing it came from where Clementine and Momon were fighting.

“As you wish, my Lord.” Nabe smiled and slightly bowed in the direction the order had come from. She turned her cold eyes back on Khajit. “I will no longer fight you as ‘Nabe’.”

The two Skeletal Dragons rushed forward slamming their claws down on Nabe, sending a large cloud of dust and dirt into the air.

Khajit grinned at catching the woman off guard. “What?” He noticed that Nabe wasn’t in the crater that his undead dragons had created. “So, you can use [Fly]?” Khajit growled out. ‘But how did she dodge that attack? Didn’t she move out of the way that quickly? Why isn’t she running away? Her Magic doesn’t work on my Skeletal Dragons.’

“Rejoice, human scum, for you have received the honor of facing one of the Pleiades Battle Maids loyal to Lord Ainz Ooal Gown, me, Narberal Gamma.” Narberal informed him as her clothing shifted to her Pleiades Outfit, which was an armored maid outfit with the skirt being almost egg-shaped.

‘That isn’t Caster gear…’ Khajit had never seen such garments before. “Kill her!” He commanded and the two Skeeltal Dragon rushed at Narberal. Their blows passed through empty air though.

“[Teleportation].” Narberal appeared behind Khajit and stabbed him through the shoulder.

“Gaaagggh!” The necromancer stumbled forward in pain.

“Does that hurt?” Narberal questioned without an ounce of actual care.

Khajit held his injured shoulder as Narberal flew up into the air again. “Ugh… Now I see. You can use [Teleportation]… That’s how you’ve been dodging my Skeeltal Dragons’ attacks. Normally that spell is used to flee! But you use it to teleport in close for the kill, right?!”

“I don’t think so.” Narberal denied with a blank expression. “I was just demonstrating one way that I could easily kill you.” She looked down at him from high above. “Let’s finish this up. As a follower of Lord Ainz, it’s impolite of me to keep him waiting.” She clapped her hands together. “Do you truly believe that these dragons of yours are immune to Magic? You have a lot to learn about being a Caster. I’ll have you pay for this lesson with your pathetic life!” Lightning began to spark off her hands as she spread them apart.

“Guh! What kind of Magic is that?!” Khajit demanded, never having seen anything like it before. “Try it! They’re both still immune! Nothing you throw at them will matter!” He roared at the woman.

“Not immune,” Narberal corrected the old man. “To be more precise, their Magical Resistance nullifies any spells that’re Sixth Tier and below. But I’m able to cast even higher Tiered Magic. If you’re still having trouble understanding, that means I can beat your pets with ease.” Narberal actually had an expression on her face now, a smirk of amusement as she prepared to destroy Khajit and his Skeletal Dragons.

“You really are crazy!” Khajit had a mocking smile on his face. “No one in this world can cast Seventh Tier Magic! That power belongs to the Gods!” He staggered back a step. “Five years, countless schemes, all my meticulous planning. All for the feelings that I couldn’t forget even after thirty years! I refuse to believe that it will all be taken from me by a girl in a maid outfit!”

Narberal’s amused smirk turned into a blank look of disdain. “I don’t care about your feelings, worm. Your death will serve my Master, take some comfort in that.” The amused smirk returned as the lightning crackled and roared with thunder. “[Twin Maximize Magic: Chain Dragon Lightning]!”

With a loud roar, two bolts of lightning in the shape of dragons fell from the storm of power between Narberal’s hands. They didn’t even slow down as they blasted through the two Skeletal Dragons. Khajit didn’t even have time to cry out before he vanished in the bright blue-white light.

As the resounding rumble faded away, Narberal landed on the ground gently. All that was left of Khajit was a scorched, blackened husk of a corpse. “Even an insect can smell good grilled. Perhaps this would be a good souvenir for Entoma?” The Battle Maid mused as she looked at the charred corpse.

-Clementine vs Momon-

“This is an interesting tactic…” Clementine mentioned of Momon stabbing his sword into the ground and spreading his arms at his waist. “Are you giving up?

“I think I should finish up as well.” Momon replied simply. “It wouldn’t be fair to Narberal otherwise.”

Clementine felt her eye twitch in annoyance. “Are you for real?” She tapped her right hand stiletto against her pauldron. “How can you win against me with no Martial Arts?” She leaned forward a bit. “You’re trying to annoy me, aren’t you?”

“Are you going to talk, or are we going to finish this?” Momon questioned, his voice giving away his boredom.

“Well… I do agree that we should settle this.” Clementine’s grin became dangerous, in a way that would make any normal person flee in terror. She took her odd crouching stance again, but this time her body glowed as she used Martial Arts to empower herself before her charge. “[Stride of Wind]! [Greater Evasion]! [Ability Boost]! [Greater Ability Boost]!” She was off like a shot, blurring to the eyes of many, and vanishing to the any regular person. ‘He’s just standing there? What does he think he’s… He’s underestimating me!’ She stabbed her stiletto straight through the visor of his helmet again. With a twist of her wrist, the spell stored inside of the stiletto [Lightning] activated sending electric discharge into the suit of armor and the person wearing it. “I’m not done!” Her second stiletto was drawn and she stabbed it into the other side of the visor before activating the spell imbued into it [Fireball]. A bast of flames exploded within Momon’s armor and covered his entire body. “Heh…” Clementine smirked at finishing off the annoying warrior with no Martial Arts, but a big mouth.

Momon’s arm wrapping around her waist and trapping her against his frame stopped her giggling. “Interesting. There weren’t weapons like this in YGGDRASIL. I’ll have to look out for them.” The flames burnt out and left Momon seemingly unharmed.

“What?! No way…y-you shouldn’t be alive!” Clementine knew that she hit him, had blasted two Third Tier spells straight into him through the stilettos! No one could’ve survived that!

“Well…if you really want to know…” Momon dispersed his armor, returning himself to his normal silvery robe and items. He spread his wings, one the purest white, the other the deepest black, as Clementine watched on in growing confusion, fear, and shock. Without the helmet she could now see that her stiletto’s had stopped against his skin without piercing through in the slightest.

“You-You’re…an Angel?!” Clementine could barely get the words out in her shock.

“Not quite.” Momonga denied while tightening his hold on her waist. Her skin felt surprisingly soft under his fingers. “Hmm, quite a bit of muscle tone…yet still lean and flexible…much like a cat. Truly you have a warrior’s body.”

Clementine blinked at the sudden commentary, not knowing how to react to an Angel…or whatever he was, talking about her body. Only as she looked into his eyes and their ever-shifting colors did some small idea come to her. “Y-You-You’re…a G-Go…” It sounded crazy to even say, but she was staring right at him!

“Hmm?” Momonga stopped his brief inspection of Clementine and gave her his attention. “Oh yes, I wanted to ask you… How does it feel to fight a Caster that’s wielding a sword?”

“H-Huh?” Clementine blinked, briefly forgetting her train on thought in the process.

“This is the true nature of your handicap.” Momonga informed her, his arm wrapped around her waist preventing her from going anywhere. “Basically, you weren’t an enemy that I had to take seriously enough to use my Magic on.” With a small smile his grip began to tighten. “Now that you understand, let’s begin.”

Clementine dropped the stilettos from limp hands, the blades that hadn’t even been able to pierce Momonga’s skin clattering to the ground. Her red eyes gazed into his ever-shifting eyes and she relaxed her body.

“Not going to resist?” Momonga questioned with a modicum of surprise.

“The predator gets to decide what happens to the prey.” Clementine spoke without breaking eye contact. “You won, I lost, it’s your right to decide my fate.” The psychotic warrior woman revealed how she saw the world to Momonga.

“I see.” Momonga’s other arm came up and wrapped around her waist, increasing the pressure of his hold. “I’ll be sure to put you to good use.”

Clementine gave no resistance to his words, only hanging there with her feet off the ground as the pressure slowly increased. “May I know the name of the God that descended to take my life?”

“Hm?” Momonga actually stopped increasing the pressure of his grip at her question. “You believe me to be a God?”

“I was born and raised in the Slane Theocracy; I’ve spent my whole life learning about fake Gods. I’m sure that I can spot a real one when he’s about to kill me.” Clementine replied with a bit of life returning to her red eyes. At least she could say that she was met and ended by a real God, and didn’t end up dying for one of the fake ones like so many others had in the Slane Theocracy’s history.

‘Well now, Martial Arts and more information about the Slane Theocracy… This woman’s potential uses keep increasing.’ Momonga thought to himself as he looked into her red eyes. “Only those I deem important to me may hear my true name.”

“I see.” Clementine wouldn’t question it. She was about to die anyway, so it’s not like it mattered much. She’d just have to go to whatever fate awaited her beyond death and brag about dying at the hands of a God, even if she didn’t know his name.

Momonga simply held her up, his grip still tight, but the pressure wasn’t increasing. It seemed to take Clementine, who’d resigned herself to death, several moments to realize that she wasn’t being crushed to death as she had expected to be. Momonga looked at her and Clementine could only stare back at him and the myriad colors of his eyes.

“W-Why?” Clementine was confused about the sudden halting of her impending death.

“Do you want to die?” Momonga questioned her, making Clementine nearly reel back, if she’d been able to move.

“N-Not really…” Clementine answered after a moment. Normally she’d be clawing and fighting to the end if she was about to die. But not even being able to scratch this God before her had delivered to her a defeat so absolute that she had just resigned herself to her fate.

Momonga searched her eyes, finding only honesty within them. “Will you offer up your everything to me and my goals? Your life, your knowledge, everything?”

Clementine nodded, slowly at first, but then more vigorously as she realized that she was being offered a chance. “Anything you want or desire, my Lord.” She wrapped her legs around his hips and moved her arms to rest over his shoulders. “Anything~” She made it clear that he could have her body if he wanted it. Was it a good idea to offer sex to a God? She had no fucking clue! But if he desired her like that, she wouldn’t refuse. ‘How many of those Holy Women can say they were actually fucked by their Gods?’

“You’ll end up dead by hands not my own if you keep that up.” Momonga told her flatly, already able to predict how Albedo and Shalltear would react to a ‘lowly human’ making any sort of advance on him. “Very well, your life now belongs to me. I expect absolute obedience.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Clementine agreed without hesitation.

“Excellent.” Momonga nodded to her as she unwrapped her legs from his hips and moved her arms off his shoulders. “But still, your actions have caused me trouble, so you must be punished.”

“P-Punished, my Lord?” Clementine had heard all sorts of tales of divine punishment growing up. There was a seemingly unending list of ways that this God could make her suffer.

“Discipline must be maintained.” Momonga stated simply, before his right hand left her waist and moved up to rest against the side of her head. “[Sandman’s Sand].”

Clementine was out like a light, not able to resist the much more powerful version of the [Sleep] spell.

“She may hate me later, but to make sure that she obeys the hierarchy within Nazarick and to gain as much information on both Martial Arts and the Slane Theocracy, her punishment for this incident will be multifold.” Momonga looked over the sleeping woman. Seeing her sleeping, one wouldn’t suspect her for being the psychopath that she was. “I’m sure some time in the Colosseum will give us all the information that we need on Martial Arts. Getting information shouldn’t be too hard with the appropriate spells.” For now, Momonga would transport her to Nazarick and have her confined until he returned. “[Gate].” The black void opened up and a moment later Mare’s head poked out to look around.

“L-Lord Momonga!” Mare bowed at the waist. “What c-can I do for you, m-my Lord!”

“Take this woman to Nazarick and confine her within one of the rooms in the Colosseum. Make sure her stay is comfortable for now and when she wakes up, let her know that I will be coming to see her shortly.” Momonga instructed Mare as he handed the sleeping Clementine over to the Dark Elf boy.

“I-It shall be done, my Lord.” Mare nodded, since he couldn’t bow while holding Clementine. He walked back through the [Gate] and the void of blackness closed behind him a second later.

“Now…let’s go rescue Nfirea.” Momonga created his black armor once more and headed toward Narberal’s location.

-Crypt-

“Hmm, this item is the problem.” Momonga looked at the Crown of Wisdom on Nfirea’s head, both of the young man’s eyes had been gouged out as well. “[All Appraisal Magic Item]!” Momonga cast and got the information he needed about the Crown. “Useless to Nazarick.” He pointed his finger at it. “[Greater Break Item]!” The Crown of Wisdom stood no chance against the spell and shattered into dust. “[Middle Heal Wounds].” He cast and in a soft, green glow, Nfirea’s eyes were restored like they’d never been damaged.

“Would you like me to carry him, Lord?” Nabe asked politely.

Momonga shook his head and picked up Nfirea. “I’ll take him Nabe. You’ve done excellent work today. I will think of a reward for you later.”

“B-But, my Lord, I was only doing as you instructed, to receive a reward for such a thing is…” Narberal was cut off as Momonga’s hand gently rested atop her head.

“You’ve served me well, Narberal Gamma, and for that I will reward you.” Momonga’s words left no room for any argument.

“Y-Yes, my Lord…thank you for your generosity and benevolence.” Narberal felt her cheeks warm up as Momonga kept his hand atop her head, gently running his palm over her soft raven locks before they headed for the exit of the crypt.

They had a lot to report and would probably be surrounded at the gate to the cemetery if Lizzie and Ninya had managed to round up the Adventurers of the Guild.

‘It’s gonna be a long night still.’ Momonga lamented in his mind, having hoped that he was done with all-nighters when it came to his work. Especially now when he had such an amazing bed that he could sleep in within his bedchambers in Nazarick.

-End Chapter-

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Well damn…

Unfortunately, 3 out of 4 members of the Swords of Darkness have died.

But Ninya survived! So that’s something. But how will losing ‘his’ friends effect the prodigious Caster? Perhaps the truth will come out soon?

Nfirea managed to make his feelings known to Enri earlier than Canon! Go Nfirea! Woo!

Then he immediately got kidnapped…

Thankfully, Momonga was willing to save him, and all it cost was Lizzie and Nfirea working for him from now on!

Khajit and his Zurrernorn followers are wiped out.

But Clementine’s fate has changed a bit…where will that lead? And what is the multifold punishment that awaits her in Nazarick?

It won’t be a good time for her, that’s for sure.

With a huge incident resolved singlehandedly, what will the two-man Party of Momon and Nabe receive?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!